If you’re looking for something just a little from the beaten path while in the Dutch capital of Amsterdam you very well may consider visiting a museum or two. Here are 7 small museums in Amsterdam you have to see. In the simple to the quirky, towards the simply weird, we’ve got your back!
As a city of a thousand canals and nine centuries price of history, it’s clear that Amsterdam is really worth a visit. Set against a backdrop of windmills and tulip fields, the city is known worldwide for its numerous museums. As a result, no visit to the city could be complete with no forage into one of its many galleries through the city. For additional tips on things to visit during your visit to Amsterdam, be sure to check out the ultimate Amsterdam bucket list.
#1 Museum Willet-Holthuysen, Herengracht 605, 1017 CE Amsterdam, Netherlands
What? A home museum which was first designed for an Amsterdam Mayor in the late 1600s. Within the late 19th Century, the home was revamped, and fitted with luxurious fittings in keeps with the type of the time- Late French Renaissance. The final who owns the home, Louisa Holthuysen, bequeathed the house and it is contents towards the city of Amsterdam upon her death.
Why you need to visit: In the landscaped garden out back (manicured to within an inch of their life) to the large selection of proper art on the walls, everything about this museum gives you a glimpse of what life would have been as with the 1860s. In fact, the dining table is still set as it would have been all those years back, so that as if the family were about to get home for dinner…
Purchase your tickets for the Museums Willet-Holthuysen here.
#2 Houseboat Museum (Woonbootmuseum) Prinsengracht 296K, 1016 HW Amsterdam, Netherlands
What? A small Houseboat that has been transformed into a museum. A visit here is quick and easy, making a visit here an ideal introduction for life living on Amsterdam’s canals. Originally built to transport sand and travel along the city’s waterways, the boat was turned informed right into a house in the 1960s. It's been open to the general public like a museum because the late 90s.
Why you should visit: Amsterdam is often cited as ‘the Venice of the North’. And with its numerous waterways and canals, it’s easy to see why. A trip aboard the 1914 freighter (and a literal ‘step’ onto certainly one of Amsterdam’s canals) is really a quirky and different experience.
#3 Rembrandt’s House (Rembranthuis), Jodenbreestraat 4, 1011 NK Amsterdam, Netherlands
What? The famous artist Rembrandt lived here in the home between the years of 1639 and 1656. The famous artist whose many works take presctiption display in the world-famous Rijksmuseum, a must see Amsterdam attraction, only left the house when he became bankrupt.
Why you should visit: Of all of the small museums in Amsterdam on this list, Rembranthuis is probably the most widely known. However, this lovely house museum just needed to be mentioned! Found on Jodenbreestraat, Rembranthuis isn’t far from the city hall. (And the remaining area is must-see around if perhaps to determine plenty more 17th-century architecture).
Purchase your tickets for that Rembrandthuis here.
#4 Cat Cabinet Museum (KattenKabinet), Herengracht 497, 1017 BT Amsterdam, Netherlands
What? This quirky museum is definitely an ode to any or all things cat. Yes, like the furry animal. From drawings to paintings and even sculptures, literally everything the thing is in the museum is related to our feline friends. There are even artworks by great masters including Rembrandt and Picasso.
Why you need to visit: A museum dedicated to everything cat-related. Need I say more?!
#5 Amsterdam Museum
What? No trip to the town, and indeed no post about small museums in Amsterdam, would be complete and not mention at least one museum following the good reputation for the settlement. Previously known as the ‘Amsterdam History Museum’, today the museum is just known as the ‘Amsterdam Museum’. The website from the museum is on what was once an orphanage for kids who had lost their parents towards the Plague in the 16th century.
Why you need to visit: The museum documents almost a thousand years worth of history and shows both the positive and negative sides of Amsterdam. Here, you can learn about the city’s varied history and the way the city came to be the way it is today.
Purchase your tickets for that Amsterdam Museum here.
#6 Our Lord within the Attic, Oudezijds Voorburgwal 38, 1012 GE Amsterdam, Netherlands
What? Among the oldest museums in Amsterdam, Our Lord within the Attic (known in Dutch as ‘Museum Amstelkring Ons Lieve Heer op Solder’), is a fairly substantial church, located in the attic of a 17th-Century house.
Why you should visit: This is easily my favourite museum in Amsterdam, and when there, you’ll see why! This incredibly unusual museum is incorporated in the very middle of the Red Light District and welcomes around 85,000 visitors annually. It’s a Catholic ‘clandestine’ church, meaning that it was built-in secret at any given time once the rest of the city was converting to Protestantism.
Purchase your tickets for the Lord within the Attic here.
#7 Museum of Bags and Purses, Herengracht 573, 1017 CD Amsterdam, Netherlands
What? A museum focused on everything bags and purses. Occur a canal house dating completely back a few centuries, the museum traces the history of bags over the past five hundred years.
Why you should visit: Paris, London and New York might be most widely known for fashion, but Amsterdam continues to have its great amount of designers, shops, and fashion culture. Within the museum, you may also enjoy a ‘high tea’. This includes teas, a selection of cakes and sandwiches. They are served in 17th and 18th-century rooms with painted ceilings.
Purchase your tickets for the Museum of luggage & Purses here.
